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My First Q&A!

Today’s post is going to be different, as I’m going to be doing my very first Q&A! I posted on here and on my Instagram that I would be doing this and asked you guys to submit any questions you had for me… and you did!

So, here goes nothing!

samm_guardinoo on Instagram asked: What are your favorite brands? When did you first start wearing/taking an interest in makeup?

As for when I first started wearing makeup, well, I was actually quite young. I took dance lessons for several years and for the annual recital, we had to wear heavy stage makeup so the lights wouldn’t wash us out. I remember my mom slathering everything on, then washing it off with Noxema when we got home (to this day I can’t stand the smell of Noxema).

I took an actual interest in wearing normal makeup around junior high, starting with the usual lipgloss & mascara. In high school that expanded, but I didn’t really get more into makeup until I was in my 20s. I’m actually more into makeup now than I was in my 20s, if I’m going to be totally honest.

Ashley over at Sparkle & Spice asked: What beauty product can you not live without?

Foundation. I got a lot of thing I want covered up (redness, freckles/spots, uneven skintone…) and foundation helps with all that. Plus my face/neck are a different shade from the rest of my body, so foundation evens all that out too.

Stashy at Stash Matters had a bunch of questions for me:

What is your spirit animal?

I had to think about this one. And I’m going to have to say…. this chicken:

He’s from a show that used to be at Disneyland called America Sings:

And throw in some Shawn & Gus from Psych for good measure:

Who has been the biggest influence in your life?

One is definitely mom. She was more than just a mom to me. She was also like a sister and a great friend. she kept me in line, but also did stuff like teaching me creative ways to flip someone off and we had a lot of crazy/fun adventures together. I miss her a lot (she passed away almost 3 years ago).

The other would be my boyfriend. Ever since I’ve known him, I’m a lot more outgoing that I used to be. And I care a lot less what others think of me as well (that’s something that I dealt with since I was a kid). I feel like the person I’ve always meant to be. And it’s because he believes in me and encourages me (and vice versa).

What was the biggest challenge or hurdle you had to overcome?

Probably deciding to move to Florida. I had never been on my own until that point, and it was totally crazy to uproot myself and move 1200 miles away with no family or friends nearby. But I did it. And I’m glad I did.

What is your dream vacation?

That’s easy! Visit every Disney theme park in the world! I live 90 minutes from Walt Disney World and I visited Disneyland a couple times in the 80s (but I want to go back really bad). But visiting the parks in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris and Shanghai would be such a thrill. I actually have friends who have done just this and I’m so jealous of them (even though I have souvenirs from all the parks except Shanghai).

I’m more into “fast casual” places (where you order at the counter and they bring your food to your table). That being said, I have a few favorites – Culver’s (I love their butter burgers and frozen custard), PDQ (they’re a regional chicken place that’s 1000 times better than Chick-Fil-A or Zaxby’s), and Tijuana Flats (they’re another regional chain that serves Mexican/Tex-Mex – they do great taco specials on Tuesdays and I also love their enchiladas).

jingorokitty on Instagram had several questions for me as well:

Do you do your eye makeup first or face makeup?

I used to do face first, then eyes, but now I’ve flipped that and do my eyes first, then face. This is mainly because of fallout, which is much easier to clean up if you don’t have anything else on your face.

What inspires the looks you create on a day to day basis?

Well, sometimes I’ll see a look on YouTube or Instagram that I like and try to recreate. But most times, I just wing it and make it up as I got along. Sometimes it turns out looking awesome. Other times, not so much. But it’s just makeup and if you don’t like something, you can just take it off and start over.

If money is no object, which luxury beauty product would you like to try most?

That’s a good question! I had to think about this. There’s a couple things actually.

One is the Sisley Paris ‘Phyto-Teint Expert’ All-Day Long Flawless Skincare Foundation. It retails for $137 (!!!). I’m curious how it compares to my favorite long wearing foundations.

Another would be the YSL eye palettes. They retail for $95 each, but they look really pretty.

theworldofcos on Instagram asked: What’s your favorite nail polish?

I love dark, vampy nails. I’ve loved nails like that since the 90s. It’s the little gothling in me that will never die. I especially love black nails. Black Creme by Wet N Wild is one of the best drugstore black polishes out there. But I’m also a sucker for duochromes like my CND Vinylux in Pantina Buckle and Orly polish in Ingenue. And of course rose gold… No Way Rose by Morgan Taylor is a gorgeous one.

No Way Rose by Morgan Taylor

Black nails always!

Ingenue by Orly

beautyandthebrooke on Instagram asked: All time favorite lip shade?

I love the “my lips but better” look. A nice medium or dark nude or mauve/dusty rose shade is something I always gravitate toward. And I have a few favorite I grab for a lot. Revlon Super Lusterous lipstick in Rose Velvet, Estee Lauder PureColor Envy in Intense Nude and MAC’s Twig and my top 3.

Estee Lauder PureColor Envy lipstick in Intense Nude

monicagellman on Instagram asked: Do I REALLY have to throw out things like eyeshadow?

Eventually, yes. You can hold onto powder products like blush/bronzer/highlighter and eyeshadow longer than you can other products, but eventually those powder formulas will go wonky and lose their consistency/quality/pigment and it’ll be time to let them go. This is one reason I’m really trying hard not to buy any new palettes and use what I have because I don’t want anything going bad on me and have to throw it out even though I’ve barely touched it.

And….. that’s all! I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed doing it! Let me know if you’d like to see me do another Q&A in the future!

As always, thank you all so much for reading and your support. Love you guys! I’ll see you again soon in my next post!

I don’t know why but I seem to have missed a bunch of your June posts!
Catching up…
LMAO that chicken is hilarious!
Your mom sounds awesome! ❤
How did I know that you were going to say Disney as your dream vacation?
Hmm PDQ sounds good. I love checking out regional fast food chains!
Sisley Paris makeup is so expensive! I would be curious if they are really THAT much better than drugstore or even other high end products.
Orly Ingenue is gorgeous!